fame name. Nicols has frequently eat of it, and praifes it as nourishing and pleasant to the palate.

When Cadamofto made his voyage to the Canaries, anno 1445, the Spaniards were then only in poffefsion of the four smaller iflands; the rest being inhabited, as he fays, by a race of idolaters, whom the Spaniards called Guanchas, or Guanches, a name which Linschoten, and other writers, apply to their defcendents. In number, the inhabitants of Gran Canaria amounted to nine thoufand, and of Teneriffe to five thoufand, men, women, and children, of a barbarous nature and gigantic ftature.. Polygamy was permitted among them, every man keeping as many women as he could afford to maintain, without any restriction of law or cuftom; and they fuckled their children with the milk of goats. All their property was in common; that is, their food was fo, for all other property and riches they were ftrangers to. The earth was cultivated and ploughed with the horns of bullocks, and the sheep fhorn, and the beards of the inhabitants cut with whetted flints instead of iron inftruments, of which they had no knowlege. So much did they deteft the notion of fhedding human blood, that notwithstanding they are called barbarous, no people on earth fhewed more humanity in this particular; for having taken a Spanish veffel, the crew of which had grofsly infulted them, their hatred could not inspire them with more rigorous punishment than fetting their prifoners to watch their flocks; an employment which they esteemed ignominious and mean: but this excefs of rudenefs, fays our author, did not prevent their having notions of futurity; for each community, or little fociety, had always two chiefs or kings, one dead and the other living. As foon as any of their princes died, they wafhed his body with the greatest care, and placing it erect in a cave, they put a fceptre in his hand, with two jars by his fide, the one filled with milk, the other with wine, as the neceffary provifion for his journey w.

At the time when Cadamosto visited the Canaries, each ifland was divided into a number of different kingdoms, or rather lordships, of which Teneriffe alone contained nine. The wars which were frequently kindled among thofe little ftates, made them forget the natural fenti

w Herbert, p. 4. Sprat's Hift. of the Royal Society, p. 212, & feq. Peter Martyr, dec. i. p. 9. Voy. de Cadamofto, apud Ranuf. tom. i. p. 98. Davity, p. 72.

ments

ments of humanity and tenderness peculiar to this people, and fometimes to carry the fury of revenge to the utmost excess, till the face of the country was overfpread with carnage and blood. Yet were their weapons the most fimple in the world, confifting of stones, and two kinds of lances; the one armed with horn, the other unarmed wood, but pointed and hardened in the fire. To protect them against the fcorching beams of the fun in the hot feafons, and against the inclemency of the cold in their winters, they anointed their bodies with a mixture of tallow and the juice of certain plants, which tinged their fkins with all manner of colours, red, yellow, and green, and women, as well as men, made use of this extraordinary defence and ornament.

It appeared likewife that each ifland had its particular mode of worship; nay, that the different little ftates within the precincts of the fame island differed both in the form of their religion and government; although within the fame focieties every thing was in common, religion, customs, language, manners, and property itself. In the ifland of Teneriffe alone there were no less than ten different forts of idolaters or Pagans; fome worshipping the fun, fome the moon, and the rest of the heavenly bodies. Polygamy, as we have faid, was permitted; but the virginity of the bride belonged of right to the chief; and both the and the bridegroom thought themselves highly honoured if he condefcended to confer upon them this mark of his regard, and to claim his right. They continued long after the conquefts of the Spaniards, who fuffered them to have their own lords and chiefs. A barbarous cuftom, which was always practifed upon the acceffion of a new prince, was the facrificing a certain number of young perfons of both fexes, in honour of him, and to procure bleffings upon his reign. The manner of performing this inhuman ceremony was thus: a great feast was given, at the close of which, all those who were defirous of proving their affection and loyalty were conducted to the fummit of a steep rock, whence, after pronounce ing certain myfterious words, and going through a number of abfurd ceremonies, they flung themfelves over into a deep valley below, and were dashed in pieces by the violence of the fall. In reward of their loyalty the prince thought himself bound in duty and gratitude to bestow all poffible marks of kindness and favour on the parents of the infatuated victims, a circumilance which renders it doubtful whether these young perfons did not devote their lives

as proofs rather of filial affection than of fidelity to their fovereign. Many of these customs still remain among the pofterity of the Guanches, which will best appear by relating what modern travellers have obferved upon their

manners.

The natural inhabitants of the Canaries, fay they, are ftout and robuft, but inferior in fize and strength to their ancestors. Their complexion is neither abfolutely white nor black, but a kind of mixed colour, or tawny, with large flat nofes. They are of a lively and quick genius, alert, active, brave, and cunning, much addicted to war, in which particular they differ from the natural disposition of their ancestors, who, however, from circumstances of policy, were often engaged in war. They are ftill diftinguished by the Spaniards by the name of Guanches; which indeed they merit from their strict adherence to many of the customs and manners of the ancients. One quality they have in particular in common with their gigantic predeceffors; that is, a moft voracious appetite, and a ftomach fo devouring, that it is ufual for one man to eat up at a meal a dozen of rabbits and a kid; a fact we are scarce able to credit upon the authority of all those writers whom the reader will find cited in the margin *.

They fpeak but little, and with great deliberation, uttering their words between their teeth and lips; and befides the language of the country talk Spanish fluently. Doctor Sprat relates, that, in Teneriffe, the defcendents of the ancient Guanches live upon grain formed into cakes with milk and honey; and that they keep their food in fkin-pouches, fufpended to their belts and girdles, in which they likewife bake them in the smoke. Some of them rigidly abftain from wine, and cannot be prevailed on to tafte animal food. So active and light they are, that they run up and down mountains, and skip from rock to rock with amazing facility. In all thofe kind of exploits they ufe a pole nine or ten feet long, with which they aflift themselves in leaping or fliding from one precipice to another, and in breaking off the sharp angles of rocks, frequently trufting themselves to a ftep not three inches wide, in which they fix their toes, and feem to hang over frightful heights and precipices. Sir Richard Hawkins had feen them climb and defcend steeps and high

x Doctor Sprat, p. 213. Durette, p. 74. Voyage de Herbert, p. La Croix, tom. iv. p. 670. Prevoft, tom. ii. p. 6. Cadamofto, apud Ramuf. vol. i. p. 99. cum multis aliis.

5.

rocks

rocks in this manner, and by a method equally astonishing and frighful to the beholder; and Dr. Sprat relates a ftory of twenty-eight natives, whom the Spanish governor committed prifoners to a caftle of a prodigious height, where it was thought they were perfectly fecure: however, they found means to get over the walls, and defcended the steep and rugged precipices with a boldness and activity altogether amazing to fuch as have feen the fituation of the citadel. The fame writer adds, that the Canarians have a very extraordinary method of whistling, which may be heard at the distance of five miles; a fact that is afferted by a number of other writers like wife, who affure us, that if a Guanch whistles in your ear, it will be fome days before you recover the use of that organ, fo piercingly loud is the noise.

The learned Dr. Sprat has favoured the world with a variety of curious anecdotes concerning this people: among others, he relates, that the Guanches ufe ftones in all their fights, and throw them with a power equal to the force of that of a mufket-ball. Cadamoflo, as we have faid, makes the fame remark; and both writers agree, that they have seen these barbarians fling stones with fo certain an aim as to hit the smallest mark at a great diftance, and with such force as, with a few blows, to penetrate and break in pieces a strong fhield. Upon the first reduction of these iflands the inhabitants were fo expert in this exercife, that a fellow undertook to give twelve oranges to three men, and keep an equal number, with which he would hit one of them, at the diftance of one hundred paces, at every throw; at the fame time parrying off their oranges with his hand, though they pelted him as thick as hail: the trial was made by order of the Spanish governor, and fucceeded beyond the fellow's promifes, to the great admiration of all the spectators .

The chief and moft confiderable of all these islands is Gran Canaria, which is honoured with the refidence of a bishop, and has an inquifition established in it. Here alfo the governor of the Canaries has his palace, where he holds courts of juftice for deciding differences, redreffing grievances, and punifhing crimes. At prefent, we are told, all the inhabitants, both Spaniards and natives of this ifland, are of the Roman catholic religion. At first, indeed, many of them fled to the mountains, to avoid the perfecution of the inquifition,

y Durette, p. 71. Vide etiam auct. citat. ibid,

C 3

and

Palma yland.

and preferve the liberty of their ancient religion; but they are now all difperfed, or obliged to embrace those notions with which the holy fathers chufe to impress their minds. They are, it must be owned, but forry profe-. lytes; for the inquifition gives itself but very little trou-ble about the fincerity of their profeffions, as long as they are implicitly obedient to their oppreflive authority. The government is compofed of a viceroy or governor, with three auditors, who form what is called a royal audience".

We come now to a particular defcription of each island; and fhall begin with Palma, the moit weftward and diftant from the continent of Africa, taking them in a regular courfe as they lie eastward. This ifland. which, according to Barbot and Davity, was anciently called Capraria, lies to the north-north-weft of Ferro, in the latitude. of 28 deg. 30 min. north, or, by the maps of fome Englifh geographers, under 29 deg. north latitude,, 18 deg. weft longitude from London. The fame writers call it ten leagues in length, feven in breadth, and about twentyfix in circuit; though fome other geographers defcribe it of a circular form nearly, except the projection of one angle at the north-eaft end, which forms a kind of horn. In this ifland stands the burning mountain Capraria, whence the island had its name; though other writers conjecture, that both the island and mountain were fo called from the great number of goats bred here. It is agreed on all hands, that the foil is fertile in corn, wine, and fugar-canes, as well as in fruits, quadrupeds, and birds of all kinds. Nuno de Penna relates, in his Historical Memoirs, that on the 13th of November, 1677, a little after fun-fet, there was a violent earthquake felt for thirteen leagues round the island, attended with a dreadful noife, that continued without intermiffion for five days; during which the earth was opened in horrible gaps in feveral places, but chiefly upon the mountain of Goats, or Capraria, a mile and a half from the fea, from whence iffued a violent fire and fierce flames, which vomited up great ftones and large pieces of rocks. The fame thing happened in feveral of the adjacent places; and, in the fpace of fifteen minutes, no less than twenty-eight dreadful gulfs opened round the foot of the mountain; each

z Davity, tom. v. p. 609. Sprat, ubi fupra, & auct, citat. in loc. citat.

of